The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for use in self defense training, particularly martial arts training.
In learning the martial arts, a student must learn to deliver a blow against an opponent, and to effectively block a return blow delivered by the opponent. Often, under real fighting conditions, a return blow is delivered almost instantaneously, and may have even more force than the original blow delivered by the student. Thus, the student must be able to react quickly and effectively to parry the return blow. Furthermore, the return blow may be delivered from almost any angle, and the student must be prepared to meet that return blow no matter where it is delivered from.
In most martial arts training schools, a student must do virtually all of his fight training by actively fighting another student. In fighting with another student, it is difficult to avoid getting hit with relatively hard blows. Consequently, there is a constant danger of injury to the student. The applicant believes that a martial arts training apparatus which can effectively train a student while minimizing the risk of injury to the student can be extremely useful in martial arts training.
Heretofore, there have been some attempts at providing an apparatus that can be used in training a student in the martial arts skills. One such apparatus comprises a series of horizontal posts disposed at various heights relative to a student standing in a striking area, and which posts are designed to be struck by the student. The posts, being relatively rigid, provide little or no recoil or return striking action against the student. Another known type of training apparatus comprises a pair of parallel, horizontal limb members, each of which can pivot about a post. One limb member, when struck by a student, pivots far enough about the post to engage the other limb member and cause the other limb member to pivot, so that the other limb member delivers a return blow at the student. The limb members pivot only in respective horizontal planes, and are supported in such a manner that one limb member must pivot far enough to engage the other limb member before the other limb member can direct a return blow against the student. Finally, an additional training apparatus for martial arts training comprises a single kick member supported from a post by a bellows-like spring. The kick member provides a resilent recoil against a strike.
The foregoing types of training devices have some usefulness in training a martial arts student. However, in the applicant's experience they do not provide realistic enough simulations of real fighting conditions to effectively train the martial arts student. Their ranges of motion are limited, and their responses are well defined, thus making them too predictable to effectively train the martial arts student. Also, they do not provide a way of determining the effectiveness of a student's technique in defending against a return blow. Moreover, they do not effectively take into account the relatively short, explosive type of punch delivered in most martial arts, in comparison to other forms of self defense (e.g. boxing). For example, a martial arts punch might be delivered in the distance of only a few inches, and with no follow-through, so that all of its explosive power (energy) is transferred to the target at the instant of impact. Applicant believes that if a training apparatus dissipates, rather than magnifies, the force of that impact, a return blow delivered by the apparatus may not be delivered with sufficient force to require a student to quickly and effectively defend himself.